


Purgatory Farm/AKA Twister: A Love Story

by athousandpercentgay (NRHaughtfan)



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F, Minor Character Death, Recreational Drug Use
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-12-04
Packaged: 2021-02-26 15:47:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21590659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NRHaughtfan/pseuds/athousandpercentgay
Summary: A Wayhaught-focused homage to one of my favorite cheesy 90's movies.
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught, Wynonna Earp & Nicole Haught
Comments: 18
Kudos: 83





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own the copyrights to either the Twister movie or Wynonna Earp television show. No infringement is intended as I do not make any money from writing. If you are familiar with the movie Twister, you will recognize that some scenes are verbatim, some are paraphrased, and some are completely imaginary due to my obsessive need for backstory.  
> The only things I know about meteorology are from a ninth-grade science project and watching the Weather Channel; so if any information is inaccurate, I am the one at fault.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: There is implied reference to non-consensual sex and possible self-harm in this chapter. Please do not read if this is an issue for you.

Purgatory Farm, Seiling Oklahoma, May 2, 1996

I woke to Wynonna shaking my shoulder and Daddy yelling downstairs. The rush of wind through my bedroom window sounded like a freight train and I knew something bad was coming for us. 

“Get up Waverly, we have to get to the cellar!” Wynonna’s face was terrified as she grabbed my hand, pulling me from my bed. We stumbled downstairs, through the kitchen and out the back door to our storm cellar. The sky was black and I couldn’t see anything clearly; unknown objects skittered by our legs as we ran. 

Behind us I could hear Daddy calling for Willa; but Wynonna held my hand so tightly I was unable to turn around and run back to the house.

I screamed as loudly as I was able, “DADDY! WILLA!” and suddenly they were there with us. Daddy heaved open the door to our shelter and we all scrambled inside. I was out of breath and my heart was pounding. Wynonna still clutched my hand tightly as we huddled together on the wooden bench. 

The roar of the storm reached a crescendo and I could hear metallic noises against the cellar door as debris tore at it. The bangs and thuds at the door escalated and it shuddered under the onslaught.

We all came to the same realization at once: the door would not hold.

Daddy ran to it and grabbed the bolt in his strong hands. He yelled for Willa over the noise of the storm and she ran to him, hugging his legs. As the oldest and biggest of the three of us, I guess he hoped her weight would tip the scale in his favor. We’ll never really know what he was thinking though. The door was yanked off its hinges and Daddy and Willa were sucked into the maelstrom.

I screamed again, “DADDY! WILLA!” but they were gone. I tried to run to the now gaping doorway but again, Wynonna refused to let go of me. We held each other, crying, as the storm moved away, satisfied with its devastation.

I was six years old, Wynonna twelve, when the monster destroyed my family.  
__________________________________________________________________________

Las Vegas, January 5, 2016 American Meteorology Society Annual Conference

I rechecked the AMS app again. So many panels and papers, so little time. I was trying to find Hall N4 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The map I was accessing was confusing - the different halls and concourses, parking lots, food court, and what the fuck was freight marshaling anyway?

The presentation I was trying to locate was to be given by some young hotshot meteorologist with a theory about tracking tornado movement from the inside of the funnel. Several of the scientists I’d breakfasted with this morning had dismissed the whole thing as quackery. I bit my tongue, hiding my eagerness: my interests lay in a similar field and I was impatient to hear what the presenter had to say.

Dr. N.R. Haught. I wondered what he would be like. Probably dry and dull. I was more than likely wasting my time.  


Hall N-4 was a smaller auditorium tucked away at the end of a hallway. When I arrived, only two minutes late, the lights had already been dimmed. A moderator was rattling off degrees and certifications, finally turning around and inviting the speaker to the podium.

It was a woman. I don’t know why I was surprised. After being a men’s club for so many years, the profession had progressed greatly in the last decade and a half since the inception of The Weather Channel.  
_Thanks, Cheryl Lemke._

The speaker was maybe a few years older than I; tall and lean with flaming red hair and fiery passion in her eyes. Her speaking voice was low, sensual. The sexual attraction hit me like wind shear. I had never ever desired another human being at first glance before. I was so confused and trying to process this sensation that I barely paid attention to her first point. 

_Get it together, Earp._

I figuratively put my tongue back into my mouth and attempted to pay attention to her paper. She had some very forward-thinking ideas and theories and a way of expressing them that caught the interest of the audience. The hour sped by before I was ready for it to be over. 

They brought the lights up for the Q & A at the end. I stood until the time came for my question.  
“Dr. Haught. How do you propose to get your sensors into the funnel? It would be dangerous for any living thing to get that close to, say, an F-5?”

She looked straight into my eyes with her large brown ones. I tried not to shiver. “Thank you for your question, Doctor…”

“Earp.”

“Dr. Earp. The delivery of the sensors is the project I’m currently working on. I’m trying to perfect a system that is heavy enough to withstand the forces within the funnel but still be light enough to get taken into the vortex. If I can figure that out, well, I guess I’ll be back next year to read a paper about it!” 

She laughed _(oh my god, her laugh was sexy)_ as did the audience. That apparently felt like a good stopping point to the moderator, who thanked everyone for their attendance. People began to move toward the exits.

Except Dr. Haught and I. We were still staring at each other. 

She stepped down from the stage and walked toward me. Our height difference became even more pronounced as she came nearer, yet she moved with a grace and surety that spoke volumes about her comfort within her own skin. She exuded confidence, no, _cockiness,_ as she leaned against the chair next to mine.

“Dr. Earp. May I take you out for dinner tonight and answer more _questions_ for you?” Her voice was smooth as silk as those huge dark eyes sparkled. I felt the blood rush to an entirely inappropriate location of my body considering this was a meteorological conference.

Fuck it, I thought. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

__________________

To be totally honest, we did go to dinner first. Basically it was just foreplay though.

The restaurant was low lit and romantic. We sat side by side in a booth and our hands did things under the table that had us leaving before dessert, but not before a reasonable amount of alcohol was consumed. We stumbled into the elevator of her hotel, kissing hard and deep and messy after the doors closed behind us. 

Once we entered her room, we left a trail of clothing behind us and fell into the bed. The sex was mind-blowing. I had never had so many orgasms in one night. Or maybe in my entire life.

Nicole called them microbursts. (Meteorology humor.)

Our bodies just moved together perfectly; her lips on mine, her breasts to mine, her legs between mine…we finally rested in each other’s arms shortly before sunrise.

“This was the best birthday ever.” She whispered into my ear as I lay beside her, sated and happily sore.

“It was your birthday?” I asked, surprised.

“Yeah. If you had known, would you have changed anything that happened?” 

I paused, “No.”

We both laughed.

We got married the last day of the conference. Celine Dion, a big win at the craps table, and great sex will do that to you.

___________________

I should have known my abandonment issues would cause trouble.

___________________

She packed up her life and moved to Purgatory Farm to be with me. 

Wynonna and I no longer farmed the old homestead. Instead I had adapted the outbuildings and barn to hold meteorological supplies, lab equipment, computers, storm chasing vehicles. If I was obsessed with finding the answers to how tornadoes form and travel in an effort to atone for my father and Willa’s deaths, no one dared say so. Even Nicole.

Nicole. 

I was afraid Wynonna wouldn’t accept her, but I was so so wrong. She loved Nicole with a fierceness I did not expect from her. They were like two ‘bros’ - Wynonna encouraging Nicole to go drinking with her - Nicole accepting - and both of them stumbling home drunk and happy together in the wee hours of the morning. Maybe there were times I wondered who Wynonna would choose between the two of us, but I didn’t really expect that question would ever need to be answered.

Again I was so so wrong.

Someone who has suffered a childhood trauma such as the one Wynonna and I endured should get counseling for PTSD. I was too stubborn. Wynonna was too stubborn. We concealed our fears in different ways: Wynonna with alcohol and weed, myself with emotional unavailability and sex. 

Nicole’s upbringing, although fucked up, was more normal than ours. 

I don’t think she ever learned to cope with the repetitive cycle of emotional withdrawal and make-up sex we fell into.

Our research suffered as a result. Our marriage suffered. Looking back, I’m certain she began to feel she was at a dead end in both her professional life and our married one.

The breaking point came one turbulent night. We were gearing up to chase a storm and Wynonna and Nicole arrived supremely drunk. Nicole insisted they were going, over all my protests. The argument occurred in front of the whole team. 

During the chase, an F-2 dropped right on top of them. Nicole staggered purposefully toward the funnel and only Rosita and Jeremy dragging her to the ground saved her life. I was terrified that I could have lost her and I responded with a white-hot passionate anger. 

I’m not proud of my actions when we arrived back at the farm. I pinned her to the wall and technically forced myself upon her. (Sex was alway my go-to method of dealing with our problems.) That night I needed prove to myself that she was real, she was _alive._ I didn’t ask if that’s what she wanted. I didn’t ask why she felt the urge to walk into that funnel. I didn’t give her a chance to speak at all.

The next morning, she was gone.

I guess you’d like to ask why I have so many theories on what Nicole was thinking in those days.

My answer: you have plenty of time to think when you haven’t seen your wife in two years.

___________________

The papers were served three months ago. I’ve been trying to hold myself together since.

___________________

It’s unbelievable how much incomprehensible legal jargon it takes to dissolve a marriage that only lasted a year. 

___________________

************** NSSL RELEASE May 2 0600 ********************

_GOES-8 Satellite indicates a massive storm system setting up in the Texas/Oklahoma Panhandle. All computer models and indices point to a record-breaking sustained superstorm over the next 24-36 hours. All local meteorologists are encouraged to coordinate their teams for effective dissemination of alerts to the public. ___

____

************************************************************************

May 2, Purgatory Farm, Seiling Oklahoma

I’d been mentally preparing myself for this day for the last week. She knew someone was coming for the papers; I wasn’t sure if Wynonna had told her it was me. And Shae.  
We thumped down the old dirt road in the new truck I bought after I signed the contract. 

There was no way in hell I was going to get all choked up about being on the homestead again after two years. No way.

The usual motley assortment of vehicles was parked in the field. I parked my truck among them. It looked too new, out of place.

There was Wynonna’s ancient truck with an equally old topper. External speakers blared out ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ by Bon Jovi. The beat up van that Rosita and Jeremy shared with the computer equipment sat next to Wynonna’s truck. 

I spied the crappy converted hearse driven by Doc with Dolls as his passenger and team navigator. Then there was Waverly’s Jeep pickup. With Waverly standing beside it.

I got out of the truck and trotted to the other side to help Shae with her door.  
Wynonna ran up to us shouting “Haught Shot!” and slammed into me. I think maybe she had already hit the bong that morning.

We slapped each other’s backs ‘bro style’ and I could see a look of amusement on Shae’s face.  
Her turn was next though, as Wynonna hugged her in the same way. Shae’s expression was priceless. The amusement was all mine now.

It was short-lived amusement though, as I watched Waverly move to the front of her Jeep. I turned to Wynonna with a look and she clamped Shae to her side and walked away the other direction.  
I heard her talking to Shae about the ‘suck zone’ and chuckled wryly to myself. 

The true ‘suck zone’ was the wide gulf between Waverly and I.

A breeze caught her golden brown hair and she tucked it behind one ear. I ignored how beautiful she looked standing there in the early morning sun. She was wearing jeans, a snowy white wife beater, no bra, and she looked amazing. But I didn’t notice at all. Mostly.

Her hands were empty.

_Where were the papers?_

“Nicole.” she said in flat tone.

“Waverly.” I replied in the same fashion. “I’m here for the papers; have you signed them?”

“Yeah, let me get them.” She sauntered to the glove box of her Jeep and rummaged around, returning with a creased and dirty set of papers. She leaned against the hood, shuffling the pages, pretending to re-read them. 

“What’s the big rush anyway, Nicole? You getting married or something?”

“You’ve had the papers three months, Waverly. And yes, I _am_ getting married. I brought my fiancee with me; her name is Shae. She’s with Wynonna.”

What emotion was that in her eyes? No matter, I didn’t care.

“She’s here? And you left her with Wynonna? Ugh. Well now, I gotta meet her, right? We need to be _progressive_ about all this. Exes and current wives getting along are the new normal. Let’s go meet Shelly.”

“It’s Shae.”

“Of course it is.”

Waverly strode briskly to where Shae was sitting with Wynonna under a tattered awning. They were both sipping drinks that looked suspiciously like Bloody Marys. Shae had barely touched hers and wore a look of complete and utter bafflement. 

I smiled inside but kept my emotions in check. I had missed Wynonna’s eccentricity in my life more than I wanted to admit to myself.

Shae stood up as Waverly barreled toward her, hand outstretched. “Hi, I’m Waverly Hau… Earp. Waverly Earp. It’s nice to meet you, Sh-“

“Dr. Shae Pressman. Nice to meet you, Waverly…I suppose you think all this is very sudden…”

Shae’s ring tone began playing “Doctor, Doctor” by the Thompson Twins, which thankfully interrupted the awkward moment. She said, “Excuse me, this is my answering service. I have to take this.” and moved off. 

Waverly turned away with a curious glance and began walking toward my truck. She stopped in surprise, looking it over with admiration. 

“New truck, new job, new wife. It’s like a whole new you, Nicole.” there was a definite edge to her tone of voice.

“Yeah,” I said weakly, “Whole new me.” I couldn’t come up with anything else to say. 

What do you say at the death of the relationship that was the most meaningful of your life so far? Whatever it is, I don’t know.

Waverly recovered first. “I wanted to show you something Nicole. Come with me?”

We walked past my truck to her Jeep pickup. In the bed stood a short, squat, metal container holding dozens of small globes. A picture of an old-fashioned gun was painted on the outside. I looked at her in amazement.

“Nicole, this is Peacemaker.” She smiled proudly.

“Waverly, you did this? You continued our work?” 

Once again, my brain failed to process my emotions. She had followed through on our research, our dream, and made it reality. The design, the name, everything we had planned together as a newly married couple so long ago. 

I cleared my throat and opened my mouth to say something that would probably get me into trouble with Shae, but luckily Jeremy ran up at that moment and interrupted us.

“Waves, we’ve got one! South of Alva, traveling southeast. Are you ready?” Noticing me, he continued with a smile, “Hey, Nicole, good to have you back!”

“I’m _not_ back, Jeremy, just here to get the divorce papers.” He backed away, smile disappearing. I hated myself a little bit.

Waverly looked at me expectantly. “Would you like to come along with us, Nicole? This is our chance to see what Peacemaker can do!” 

Of course I was yearning to go with them, but I had to think of Shae and her safety. Storm chasing is a dangerous business. “No, we have to get back to the City.”

She stared in disbelief, but shook her head. "Goodbye, Nicole.” 

She jumped into the cab of her pickup, fired it up, and roared out of the pasture and up the dirt road. The rest of the team followed in her dust. Wynonna’s speakers were blaring “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” You could probably hear it over in the next county.

I stood looking up the road; lost in unexplainable thoughts. 

Shae came up behind me and said, “Okay, let’s go. You have the papers?”

“Oh shit! The papers!” Waverly had never actually handed them to me. Damn it.

I grabbed Shae’s hand and ran to my truck. Now we were going to have to chase the ‘chasers’.

We caught up to the end of the motley caravan fairly quickly—considering Waverly was in the lead and how she usually drove. 

I had a sudden thought so I turned to Shae and offered, “Honey, when we stop next time, I’ll catch a ride with someone and you can take the truck and go back to the City. I’ll see you tonight.”

Shae looked at me with incredulity and smiled sweetly. “Oh no, hon, I’m getting kinda interested in all this. This seems like fun! I want to stay.”

Poor Shae. I couldn’t possibly explain how bad this idea was in every way. Waverly and Wynonna can be like sharks circling when they smell blood in the water. Shae was chum.

At that instant, I heard a horn honk behind us and an SUV pulled into the passing lane beside my truck. When it didn’t go on to pass me, but hung by my side, I finally glanced over. I made eye contact with Robert Svane. He gave me a fluttery wave and smirked.

“Asshole!” I growled with irritation.

“Who’s that, honey?” Shae asked innocently.

“Robert Svane. He sold out whatever science he possessed for corporate sponsorship. He has the backing, the fancy equipment, the gadgets, but he doesn’t have instinct…And he doesn’t have Peacemaker.” I smiled in satisfaction. 

It was glaringly obvious to anyone the differences between Waverly’s team and Robert’s. His caravan was composed of all new vehicles sparkling clean and bristling with antennae and satellite dishes. Waverly’s caravan was dirty and beat up, with equally used looking equipment.  
I almost felt pity for her, but I knew how strong and determined she was, and the feeling faded. 

In that moment, I vowed to do everything I possibly could that day to help Waverly rub that jerk’s nose in the proverbial shit. 

I was so lost in thought, I hadn’t noticed that the motorhome bringing up the rear of Robert’s caravan was trying to pass me. The guy who was driving it eased into my lane on purpose, forcing me onto the shoulder to avoid him. The truck ran over a piece of metal and I could feel the tire flatten. 

I slammed on the brakes. “Shit! I hate these guys!” I thumped my fist on the steering wheel, then sighed heavily and prepared to change the tire.

__________________________________________________________________________

On a conscious level, I did not intentionally forget to give Nicole the papers. On a sub-conscious level though…who knows? How do you let go of the woman who you thought would be your forever person? 

I tried not to stare at Nicole as she lugged the flat tire from the back of her truck. She had removed her jean jacket and rolled up the sleeves on her denim shirt, her forearms bulging with the weight of the tire. She looked so fucking good in the Oklahoma sunshine, a slight breeze catching her auburn curls and caressing them the way my hands wanted to. She had cut her hair shorter since she had left, and it looked good on her. The cut emphasized her strong jawline and the long neck I had loved to kiss. 

I wanted her. I think I will always want her.

Her tire repair gave us a few minutes to regroup and pick up some drinks and snacks. Shae had apparently needed a bathroom and had disappeared. I was making my way toward the diner when the Revenant Corporation crew pulled in. 

_Damn them to hell._ I wished I’d warned Nicole, but it was too late.

Stupid Robert just _had_ to goad Nicole by shooting off his big mouth. I was certain she was already irritated by the flat tire incident. Her posture stiffened as called to her, opened the door of his trailer and pointed at their Peacemaker wannabe, the Revhead. She rushed angrily toward him and I took off at a dead run to try to head her off. 

_God, she’s sexy when she’s pissed._

I pulled her away before they could really get into it, and she turned to me with fire in those large dark eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me he had stolen our idea, Waverly?”

I replied with more confidence than I felt. “Because his crappy knock-off will never work, Nicole. He doesn’t know what he’s doing so he just imitates what we do. C’mon, let’s go grab something from the diner.” 

I gently laid my hand on her forearm, hoping to diffuse her anger. She shook me off, still breathing hard, and stalked away, fuming. I let her go. 

Wynonna watched her walk about a hundred yards into a field and then followed her. I knew Nicole would accept her support, so I turned and continued into the diner. 

Shae was sitting at the counter. _Well, shit._ Things just kept getting better and better.

She made eye contact with me and I could see I was about to be subjected to an unpleasant conversation. It was almost a relief when Robert stopped me to talk. 

“So, Haught was pretty angry out there.”

“That’s no longer my problem.” I smiled tightly. 

“So…what do you think, Waverly? Which way are you heading?”

“I think it’s southeast, toward the counter here.”

I turned my back to him and smiled at the waitress. “May I have a coffee to go, please?”

While I waited, I muttered to myself, “He’s waiting to see where she’s going to go.”

Shae looked at me curiously. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, he’s relying on Nicole’s instincts to tell us where to go. He’s gonna follow us.”

“I don’t know what you mean by Nicole’s instincts, but I hope you’re not trying to use all of this,” she made a sweeping hand gesture “as a desperate attempt to keep Nicole in your life.”

_There it is._

I ignored the sinking of my heart and gave her my best smile. The waitress gave me a sympathetic look and handed me my coffee. I picked up Shae’s check and paid for both of us. “She’s with me.” I told the waitress then walked out the door. With dignity, I hoped.

Wynonna and Nicole were still standing in the field. I saw Nicole sifting dirt clods through her fingers, sniffing the air and scanning the sky intently, and goosebumps rose on my arms. She could never explain to me how all her senses worked together to guide her to where a tornado might occur, but I knew for a fact that it was uncanny and it worked. 

They began trotting toward the diner and I knew, with joy, that at least for that day, she would be with me, with the team.

I ran to my pickup and opened the door. To my surprise, she yelled something at Shae and then bumped me aside to jump into the driver’s seat. 

“I’ll drive.” Her expression dared me to argue.

I ran around to the passenger side and clambered in.

Shae looked confused but climbed into Nicole’s truck, accidentally leaving her drink on top. Wynonna shouted at the others to load up and the team roared off leaving clouds of dust in our wake. I figured Robert and the Revenant Corp guys wouldn’t be far behind. 

_Eat our dust, Revheads._ I thought to myself.

Nicole opened the mic on our comm system and asked Dolls for a shortcut to Waynoka. After they had discussed back and forth, I settled back into my seat and asked casually, “So, Shelly’s a doctor, huh? Of meteorology? Did you meet her at work?”

Nicole’s head jerked around toward me and she replied testily, “It’s Shae! And no, I didn’t meet her at work.” 

A long pause ensued. I looked at her questioningly.

She finally caved. “Shae’s a therapist.” 

Another pause.

I knew who had needed a therapist in our relationship, and it wasn’t Nicole, but I couldn’t stop myself from needling her.

“ _Your_ therapist?” I smirked. Like I said, I couldn’t stop myself.

“NO! I don’t need a therapist! Why would you think I need a therapist?”

“Oh I don’t know. Inability to stay in a relationship? To oversee a project to its conclusion?”

She was getting upset. She started to weave back and forth on the road, face flushed.

I probably shouldn’t have said those things. Sometimes I can’t help myself.

Jeremy broke in on the intercom. “Hey, guys, this is all very interesting, but are we gonna chase that funnel to the west of us? Or just wait for the next one?”

 _Crap, they heard everything!_

_Crap, there’s a tornado over there! ___

____

Nicole smiled tautly and hit the gas pedal. “Here we go!” she yelled. We accelerated ahead of the team. They peeled off and stopped to monitor the equipment. 

Between the roar of the pickup and the rush of wind I was forced to shout at her. “There’s a road up to the left! Let’s get in front of it!”

Nicole laughed with excitement and cut the steering wheel sharply to the left, gouging out deep tracks in the soil. The speedometer climbed to nearly 75 as we bumped down the muddy road.

“Nicole, Waverly, the funnel’s turning toward you! Get out of there!” I could clearly hear Rosita’s fear over the comm system. We looked at each other, then out the windows of the pickup. A black whirling mass of debris was about a mile behind us and gaining.  


“We need to get off this road!” I yelled. Nicole wrestled with the steering wheel, but the ruts were grooved so deeply she couldn’t get us out. At the speed we were going, she probably would have lost control anyway. The road dropped down and suddenly we were driving in a gulley.  


“Waves, Nicole! We can’t see you anymore! Are you okay?” There was panic in Rosita’s voice.  
I shouted into the mic, “We’re in a ditch and we can’t get out! We’re gonna try to outrun it!”

Suddenly Nicole yelled, “Oh, shit!” and jammed her foot on the brake. 

Too late. We slammed into a wooden bridge that spanned the ditch. 

Dizzy and disoriented, but still determined, I jumped out of the pickup and ran to the tailgate, lowering it quickly. Wind roared in my ears. The funnel was closing in on us, but I still had hopes of getting Peacemaker in its path. 

Nicole grabbed me and shouted “It’s too late! There’s not enough time!” 

“We can do it, Nicole!” I pushed her away, bitterly disappointed over missing our chance.

“It’s not going to happen, Waverly! It’s too close!” 

I peeked behind us again and the funnel was within a hundred yards. Nicole grabbed my hand and dragged me to the wooden bridge, where she had me clasp my arms around a pylon. She pushed her body into my back, using her height and longer arms to hold me in place. 

The wind’s fury increased and a deep howling noise pounded into my already aching head. Mud and dirt pelted us, stinging my skin. 

Oddly, I felt completely safe. I was in the middle of a tornado, perhaps in danger of death, but I was in Nicole’s arms again. Maybe I was wrong, but I felt like nothing bad could happen while I was cradled there.

My traitorous body was reacting to hers pressed so closely to mine. 

_Not now!_ I told it. I hoped she was too preoccupied to notice.

The wailing, moaning noise of the wind reached a peak, and in a last burst of power and fury, the funnel sucked away my pickup. 

My Jeep, and Peacemaker with it, flew up over the bridge and I lost sight of them. 

The funnel traveled about another half mile then dissipated. Nicole let go of both me and the pylon, gently turning me to face her.

“Waverly, are you okay? Are you hurt?” Her dark eyes searched my face, my body, for injuries. 

“I think just a headache.” My body grew warm under her scrutiny and my face felt flushed.

Wynonna and the team descended quickly to check on us. She slapped Nicole on the back. “Yo, Haught Shot! That was intense!” She turned to me. “Babygirl! How did it feel to be so close to the monster?”

“Windy.” 

She cackled loudly. “Windy, she says!”

I looked around. “Have you seen my pickup?”

With no warning it suddenly fell from the sky, directly in front of Shae driving Nicole’s truck. It almost hit her, but she swerved in the nick of time. She leapt from the truck, screaming in fear. Nicole ran to her and held her close. I could hear her whispering to Shae, “It’s okay, honey, you’re okay.” 

I was so jealous I had to bite the inside of my lip to suppress the emotion. Why did Shae have to be so gorgeous and _tall_ ? They were a perfect match. I felt tiny and dirty in comparison.

I pulled myself together and sighed. I double-checked with Nicole. “Is she okay?”

Nicole nodded gratefully. “She’s okay.” 

I jogged past them to my now demolished pickup, and shook my head sadly. It was a total loss and Peacemaker was unsalvageable. I leaned into the cab and began gathering my possessions. An idea popped into my head.

“Nicole, do you have full coverage on your truck?”

“You know me, Waverly. Of course I have full coverage.” She emphasized her point by patting her chest with her hand. I wished it was my hand there instead. 

A long pause ensued.

I cleared my throat.

Understanding dawned on her face.

“No. No way.” She shook her head emphatically.

I looked at her. I looked at my poor smashed Jeep pickup. 

I looked at poor smashed Peacemaker.

I looked at the team gathered around us.

I looked at her again.

“Damn you Waverly!” But the words were resigned and held no sting. She had given in.

“Okay everyone, let’s get Peacemaker 2.0 into the back of Nicole’s truck and get back on the road.” I was already thinking ahead. 

The Revenant Corporation caravan began passing by slowly, staring at the devastation.

Wynonna yelled trash talk as they cruised past. 

“Late as usual, Robert”

“Loser!”

“Hey Robert, give me a kiss!” (turning her back and pointing at her butt)

Maybe that was why they didn’t stop to help us. Or maybe they were assholes.

___________________

We wrestled Peacemaker 2.0 into the back of Nicole’s truck with many curses and groans. Nicole took the wheel and I took the passenger’s seat. Without any discussion, Shae climbed into the back seat. Her enthusiasm was greatly diminished after the near miss with my pickup. 

Jeremy’s excited voice blared over the comm. “We’ve got another! West of Fairview!”

Nicole keyed the mic, “Dolls, get me a route.”

“Stay on 281 for now.” Dolls responded. I could hear Doc’s voice saying something in the background. “I’ll get back to you shortly.”

The sky was getting darker and it began to rain. 

Shae’s cell phone rang. The ring tone was “Sexual Healing” by Marvin Gaye. 

My eyebrows raised. Nicole blushed.

Shae answered, “Mercedes?” There was a pause while she listened.

Nicole cleared her throat. “She’s a sex therapist…”

I was speechless. I couldn’t even tease her about Shae being Nicole’s sex therapist because we both knew Nicole didn’t need any help in _that_ area.

“Mercedes, we both know you are not a pillow princess! She just says that to hurt your feelings.”

Nicole’s face was red. I coughed to cover my laughter.

Dolls voice broke in over the radio. “We’re gonna take a right on 60 in about 4 miles.”

“Mercedes, remember we talked about you trying to be more emotionally vulnerable? She needs that from you.”

The rain was getting heavier, blowing horizontally. Nicole muttered, “We’ve got surf.”

“Mercedes, I’m gonna have to go, I’ll call you back later. Honey, what’s surf?”

“Surf is that water you see coming up from the wheat field. It means the wind is blowing the rain horizontally. We’re getting close. Shae, are you buckled up?”

It was beginning to hail, pea-sized pellets that were pinging against the metal of the truck. The noise level was increasing steadily. I felt of surge of excitement.

Shae’s ring tone played “I Want Your Sex” by George Michael.

I looked at Nicole but she refused to make eye contact.

“Kate? Kate, this is a bad time…”

Small broken pieces of wood and scraps of trash began bombarding the truck. “We have debris!” I reported over the comm system.

“Kate, role play can be healthy for a relationship…Vampires? Yes, some people think vampires are sexy…”

I’ve seen many things as a storm chaser, but there’s a first time for everything. “Cow!” I couldn’t believe my eyes. The force of the winds had actually swept up a cow. I didn’t think it was possible. Judging from Nicole’s expression, she didn’t think so either.

“Kate, I have to go, we have a cow…No you did not interrupt ‘yeehaw Nicole’ role-play, Kate! I need to go now…bye, Kate.” 

I filed this word picture away for future Waverly to examine in detail at a more convenient moment.

Nicole’s face had turned so red it was approaching the violet wavelength. 

My face hurt where I was biting the inside of my cheek trying to control myself.

I forced myself to look forward and to my astonishment there was another one! “Another cow!” I said in disbelief.

“Actually, I think it’s the same one…” Nicole observed.

The rain slowed a little and allowed a more distant view.

“We’ve got sisters!” Nicole, Jeremy, and I all yelled at the same time.

There were twin water spouts dancing a crazy tango on the lake ahead of us.

It was an awe-inspiring sight. Shae sat speechless, mouth hanging open.

The direction the funnels were moving was changing constantly. I couldn’t get a read on where they were heading. Those are the most dangerous ones to chase.

Nicole picked up the mic. “We’ve got drunkards here, guys! There’s no path! You better back off and set up.”

Shae was relieved. “Oh, we’re going back?”

Nicole and I both shook our heads. 

Nicole answered. “No, we’re still going to try to get in the path and launch Peacemaker.”

“Are you crazy?” Shae’s face was petrified with fear.

Nicole was focused on avoiding the debris, so she replied without looking at her. “Honey, this is what we do! We’re scientists: we chase tornados!”

Shae slumped in her seat. “I thought when you told me you used to chase tornados that it was a metaphor!”

 _A metaphor for what?_ said my brain, but there was no more time to process. The funnel hit us and started spinning the truck on the ground, wheels screeching against the asphalt.

Nicole’s “Woah!” and my “Wow!” reactions were both drowned out by the sound of Shae’s continuous howl of pure terror. 

Although it probably seemed very intense to Shae, we only spun for about a minute. The funnel wasn’t powerful enough to pick up the weight of Nicole’s truck and lift it into the air, so we were actually very lucky. 

Nicole and I leapt from her truck and ran to the front, exhilarated from the near miss. She threw her arms around me and we jumped up and down a little, yelling little phrases of excitement.

“Woot Woot!” “Holy shit!” “Hell, yeah!” “Oh yes, baby!”

“Baby” had been Nicole’s nickname for me during our marriage. I had noticed she always called Shae hon, or honey. Oops.

We stopped hugging and jumping and looked back to the truck. Shae had gotten out and was watching us. Oops again.

Nicole quickly ran to her and gathered her up closely in her arms. She was murmuring comforting phrases into Shae’s ear; gently running her hands up and down her back. 

Envy set my teeth on edge. How did they ever get together? Their personalities were so different.

 _Must be the sex!_ My brain said.

I told my traitorous brain to just shut up.

Wynonna and the team drove up then, everyone trotting over to us and speaking at once. The babble of voices finally died down, with only Dolls still patiently trying to make me listen. “I couldn’t help but notice how close we are to Cleo Springs, Waverly…”

There was a chorus of “Yeah’s” from the team.

“No way, guys…We are not going to bother Aunt Gus!” I responded authoritatively. 

“Please? We’re growing young people, we need sustenance!”

“Food, we need food.”

“We know Aunt Gus is a great cook and we’re hungry!”

“Food…Food…FOOD!” They all began chanting in chorus.

I sighed heavily and pulled my cell phone from my pocket. “Aunt Gus? It’s Waverly.”

My ragtag group of storm chasers cheered and ran to their respective vehicles, while I warned my beloved aunt that the swarm was on its way.

___________________

My Aunt Gus ran cattle on 40 acres near Cleo Springs. But her real passion was creating art from scraps of metal. The front yard in front of her farm house held dozens of whimsical figures and abstract sculptures. 

I loved my Aunt Gus fiercely. After Willa and Daddy’s deaths, she had swooped in and taken charge of Wynonna and I as if we were her own. I owe her a debt of love that can never be repaid in one lifetime. 

Instead I showed her my appreciation by bringing the team to the farm at lunchtime. Thank goodness she loved me a lot, or I might not have gotten away with it. Also, she liked to cook, so I think I was quickly forgiven.

Everyone surrounded her; giving her hugs and greetings. The babble of happy voices filled the kitchen and dining room area as the men set the table and poured glasses of sweet tea. Wynonna and Rosita helped Aunt Gus with the food preparation while Shae watched the whirlwind of activity with bewilderment.

Nicole had gone upstairs to shower. Two near-misses with tornadoes in one morning will get you pretty dirty. I stood at the bottom of the stairs, waiting my turn in the shower. I was half listening to the chatter and half watching Shae; being envious of her. 

Nicole walked down the stairs, hair tousled and still damp from towel-drying. She looked incredibly gorgeous, even with wet hair and no make-up. I couldn’t believe how stupid I was to ever let her go. 

I should have swallowed my pride two years ago and hunted her down and convinced her to come back to Purgatory Farm with me. Now my punishment was to watch her walk out of my life with Shae walking beside her.

She nodded at me and said, “The shower’s all yours.” and headed into the kitchen.

A chorus of teasing greeted her and I could hear laughter and Wynonna’s voice yelling, “Haught Shot!”

Nicole sat down next to Shae and the team began telling tall tales of previous storm chases.

It seemed so right, so perfect, to have her back with us. It felt like home. But it wasn’t home anymore. She was giving us a day and then she would be gone again. Forever.

I turned away from the laughter and the stories to go upstairs and take my own shower.

Aunt Gus was standing behind me, a knowing expression on her face.

“Seems like old times around the table there, doesn’t it?” 

I swallowed the lump in my throat as Gus continued, “She didn’t keep her side of the bargain, did she?”

I was confused. “What bargain?” I answered.

“The one where she pines for you every day and stays alone the rest of her life.”

“Is that too much to ask?” I replied with a heavy heart. Gus knew me so well.

“Nicole always had her own dreams and most of the time they were your dreams, too, Waverly.”  
“That seems so long ago now, doesn’t it?” I sighed in despair.

She looked me straight in the eyes with an earnest expression. “Well, she’s here now, Waverly. You have today. What are you going to do with it?”

__________________________________________________________________________

Waverly returned to the dining room with an expression on her face that I could not define.

She looked beautiful as always, with her mane of hair tumbled down her back. The braless tank top look was doing things to me. I had been a goner for her from the moment we laid eyes on each other at the AMS conference all those years ago. 

Luckily this dangerous train of thought was interrupted by booing and hissing. 

Robert Svane was being interviewed on the Weather Channel. _Asshole._

“Watch out, Jim, he’ll steal your microphone when ya ain’t lookin’!” from Doc.

“He SUCKS!” from Wynonna.

“BOO!” from Rosita.

“Turn him off!” from Dolls.

Robert was rattling off some major bullshit about man versus nature, and about his stupid fucking Revhead device. I felt the anger rising again, making me light-headed.

Waverly looked at the television with a dismissive glance. “I guess he really IS in love with himself. I thought it was just a summer fling…”

Her sarcastic wittiness had always appealed to me. At this moment I needed the laughter as I calmed down from my irritation. She had always been able to pacify me with humor. 

Except when the anger involved our relationship. Then it usually escalated.

Robert’s interview was suddenly interrupted by an alert. The angry beep of the alert was followed by a local weatherperson sitting in the newsroom, jacket removed, shirtsleeves rolled up. That meant whatever they were saying was important.

“We have reports of a severe weather outbreak near Okeene. Repeating: Doppler has indicated a hook echo just west of Okeene. All residents should stay tuned to Channel 4 for further information and instructions on this fast developing system.”

Wynonna let out a loud “Woot!” and everyone began scrambling for the front door. There was a flurry of “good-byes” and “thank yous” to Aunt Gus as the team made a mad rush to their vehicles.

I gave her a quick hug. She whispered in my ear, “Now, don’t be a stranger, Nicole. You can come visit anytime, you know.” I nodded, not meeting her eyes. “I mean it!” she insisted.

I nodded again and smiled. Aunt Gus had accepted me with open arms from the first moment Waverly had introduced us. I missed her.

I wanted to spare Shae the possibility of another near-death tornado experience. I gently slipped my arm around her shoulder and asked her to ride with Wynonna, who was the only team member riding solo. 

Shae wasn’t thrilled but I knew Wynonna would keep her safe. She had her own code of conduct and she would never willingly let Shae get injured.

In the meantime, Waverly had beaten me to the driver’s seat of the truck and slammed the door in my face. She gleefully jingled my keys in front of my disbelieving eyes. I ran to the passenger side in resignation. With a smug look on her face, she started the truck and the team fell in behind us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An action movie moves quickly and has no great moral objective. Same with this story. Part 2 coming shortly, and perhaps an epilogue if you think we need one.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's where we earn the minor character death warning, and maybe minor recreational drug use...

Waverly keyed the mic, “Dolls, we need to beat Robert to Okeene. Can you find us a shortcut?”

“Working on it!” Dolls replied distractedly.

I scooted closer to Waverly. “Time to get you wired up.” 

Waverly wanted to record every second of Peacemaker’s success story as her next plea for grant money. Her team, unlike Robert’s, had no corporate backing and she was dependent on grants to continue her research. 

I gingerly put my arms around her and passed the battery pack wiring around her waist. As I plugged in the wires to the battery pack attached to her belt, I accidentally brushed my thumbs against her breasts. She flushed a dark red with embarrassment as her nipples hardened at my touch. I slid back into the passenger seat, my face as red as hers.

Dolls voice over the comm system interrupted the awkward moment. “Waverly, I’ve got your shortcut. Turn right at the next road you see.”

We were already at the turn, so Waverly was forced to stomp the brakes, slewing the truck around to make the corner. We began careening down what was basically a farm road, bumpy and ungraded.

“Are you sure we’re on the right road, Dolls?” She yelled over the mic. “Watch out everyone, this is a rough one!” We went airborne over a particularly large drop.

I could hear whooping and laughter over the comm as the others trailed us and hit the same bump. This was one crazy group of people.

Waverly repeated, “Dolls? Where does this road take us? …Dolls? Do you even know where we are?”

He finally responded. “Yes, I know where we are! Dolls is wise, Dolls is a genius…”

I was starting to think he might have taken a hit off Wynonna’s bong. 

“Where does this road go, Dolls?”

“See that grove of trees?” Dolls asked. “Just beyond that is the highway.”

Suddenly the Revenant caravan was directly in front of us. Waverly had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting Robert’s SUV. In a comedy of errors, every single vehicle of our team nearly collided with a vehicle of Robert’s team. We wound up side by side barreling down the highway.

Robert hailed us on his CB radio. “Waverly, are you crazy? You’re going to get someone killed!”  
She grabbed the mic and angrily replied, “Oh yeah? Crazy is not stopping to help when people are on the side of the road, and what’s more—“

I grabbed the mic from her. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Let’s keep this channel clear, okay?”  
She subsided with a huff of breath. 

The Revenant group dropped back behind us, tailing closely behind Wynonna.

I looked at the sky; seeing something, some sort of rotation in the clouds to our left. I had learned to trust my instincts. “Waverly, turn left up here. We need to get off this road.”

“Nicole, is this one of your hunches?” She side-eyed me questioningly.

“Just go left on the next road, trust me.” 

She wrenched the steering wheel and we roared off down a muddy trail.

For once the Revenant guys didn’t follow us. I guess Robert didn’t trust my instincts.

Dolls’ voice came over the speaker. “Where the hell are we, Nicole? Bob’s farm road?”

Waverly laughed. 

Jeremy broke in. “Hey guys, we’ve got a tornado on the ground! Repeat: tornado on the ground!”

“Where? I don’t see anything!” I yelled back.

“Uh…we should be on it here shortly, Nicole! Straight ahead, moving at 35 miles per hour.”  
“I still don’t see anything, you?” Waverly shook her head.

“If you turn left on County Road 8 and keep heading north, you should run right into it.” Dolls confirmed.

Waverly complied, bumping the truck roughly onto the blacktop. “Where is it?” She murmured. 

“I bet it’s right over that hill coming up. It’s probably gonna drop right on top of us.” I remarked drily.

Wynonna joined the conversation. “Are you going for it, babygirl? What’s your plan?”

Waverly and I looked at each other. We nodded at the same time. “Everyone prepare for deployment.”

There was a “whoop” from Wynonna. 

The team pulled off the road and began setting up their equipment. Waverly and I accelerated down the highway. The sky was black and threatening. Up ahead I could see a funnel beginning to drop from the clouds. Hail began to clatter against the truck. 

“We have hail!” Waverly reported.

“I’m gonna go back and get Peacemaker ready.” I told Waverly. I opened the rear sliding window and squeezed through to the bed of the truck. Hail pelted me, stinging my back and my arms. I started flipping switches on Peacemaker’s outer shell. Lights began flashing in my eyes. 

_Really? Were the lights really necessary for Peacemaker to function properly? Jeez._

Suddenly a tree limb blew into the windshield, making dozens of cracks. 

_Well, crap! Windshields are expensive!_

“We have debris!” Waverly yelled over the mic.

The limb skimmed backwards over the roof of the truck, nearly hitting me in the head.

_The hell with the windshield, I don’t wanna lose my head!_

Peacemaker was ready; I just needed to get the straps tying it to the bed of the pickup undone, but they were wet and slippery and my hands were chilled. I began to struggle. I couldn’t get Peacemaker untied. 

Panic mode hit me.

“I can’t get Peacemaker loose, Waverly! We need to stop!” I leaned in and yelled through the rear window.

She yelled back. “We need to get closer!”

I repeated. “Waverly, stop! I need help getting Peacemaker loose!”

“No! We need to get closer!” 

A tractor tire slammed into the windshield. The whole truck shuddered at the impact. “Stopping!” She shouted and stomped the brakes. I hit my head on the top of the window frame. 

“Shit, that hurt, Waverly!” I grumbled.

She didn’t answer. I could see she was staring straight ahead, wide-eyed.

I looked ahead too.

_Fuck!_

The force of the wind was shoving around the electric poles at the side of the road causing sparks to fly. The poles swayed back and forth, staggering like Wynonna after too many drinks.  
Explosions of electrical sparks surrounded us. I stuck my head back through the window; the top half of my body inside the truck and the bottom half wedged into the window opening. 

It was lucky timing; an electric pole bounced off the roof, into the bed of the truck. It was also shitty timing, because the pole hit Peacemaker hard, knocking it out of the tailgate. Sensors rolled away in all directions.

Waverly leapt out of the truck, carrying her backpack and running like a wild woman to poor Peacemaker. It was now reclining in an ungraceful heap of metal in the middle of the highway. Sobbing with a mixture of frustration and grief, she knelt next to it and began shoving sensors into her backpack.

I could feel the air around us changing. The hair on my arms stood straight up. The funnel was going to drop on us any second. “Waverly! We’ve gotta get out of here now!” I yelled to her. “It’s not gonna work, we can’t salvage it. Let’s go!”

“NO! No, we can’t give up! We—“ I grabbed her and pulled her toward the truck, but she was struggling against me, trying to get back to Peacemaker. I manhandled her into the cab and ran around to the driver’s seat. I threw the truck into reverse and the tires squealed as I backed down the road as fast as I could go.

After about a half mile, I stopped, intending to get the truck turned around and meet up with the team.

Waverly jumped out of the cab and began running back to Peacemaker again. She had a crazed look on her face that I recognized with sadness.

I chased her down and held her in my arms. She mindlessly pummeled me with her fists, trying to get away. She was mumbling to herself about the monster and destruction; her daddy and Willa. How she had to save them.

I lifted her chin and looked into her eyes. Gently, I whispered, “Waverly…you gotta stop this! You’re chasing ghosts. You can’t save your daddy and Willa, they’re gone. Bad things happen, Waverly. You can’t stop them, you can’t fix them. You just learn how to live again.”

She shoved me away, breathing hard but more under control.

Something deep inside compelled me to continue. “You have to let them go, Waverly. You have to learn to appreciate the things you have in front of you now.”

“Like what?” She said in a despairing tone, her head tilted downwards.

“ME, Waverly.” My shoulders slumped. “Me…” 

The truth hit me so hard that I had to walk away from her to get a grip on my emotions.

Neither of us realized Waverly was still recording. Shae had heard every single word we said.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The team decided they were hungry for supper so we drove toward Okeene. 

I was speechless under the weight of the words Nicole had said to me there in the middle of an Oklahoma highway. She was right. I had chased ghosts and unattainable dreams all of my adult life. 

I never truly appreciated what I had until she walked out of my life without saying goodbye. 

For the first time that day, I found myself hoping that Shae valued Nicole in the way she deserved. I decided maybe I _hadn’t_ been the best match for her. It was a humbling experience for me.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Shae had been subdued for the entire drive to Okeene. She told Nicole she was tired. After we parked on the main street, Nicole walked over to the burger joint. Shae went the other direction to rent a room from a rundown motel down the block. 

I stayed behind in the truck for a minute, lost in thought. I pulled the divorce papers out of my backpack, signed the final page, and slipped them into their envelope. I joined Nicole at the burger stand, in line behind the rest of the team, envelope in hand, waiting for the right moment.

The sun set with a glare of red against black clouds. The sky grew dark. Thunder rumbled and a gust of wind blew trash across the road.

Nicole glanced around intently. I swear she looked like a dog that had picked up a scent.  
She rubbed her arms distractedly and walked away from the line, looking behind the building.  
A low growling sound filled the air.

“Everybody take shelter!” Nicole yelled. “It’s coming!” She leaned into the window of the burger joint. “Get into your bathroom and get down!” The two teenagers looked terrified but ran to the back, presumably to the ladies room.

I slipped the envelope into the waist of my jeans. The wind was increasing exponentially, a shrieking, howling noise torn from its throat. My eyes sought a safe place to hide, landing on an oil change business about a hundred yards away. I pointed to it.

“Nicole! Go get Shae! I’ll get the team!” I shouted over the clamor of dirt and trash hitting the building.

Still clutching half-eaten burgers, the team ran down the street. Larger debris began to swirl around us. We reached the front door of the oil change building only to find it was locked. We looked at each other blankly. 

_BANG!_ Wynonna slammed a piece of wood into the glass door, smashing it into small pieces.  
She grinned and yelled, “HOME RUN!” 

I love my sister.

Nicole and Shae had caught up to us by then. Everyone on the team helped each other as we jumped down into the oil change pit. We huddled together in a large group. Those on the outside faced inward, exposing their backs to the debris and protecting their heads. 

Nicole sheltered Shae in her long arms. Wynonna had one arm around me and was trying to finish eating her burger at the same time. 

I love my sister.

The sound of the wind was deafening as debris began to blow into the pit. Small shards of glass blew around us; a pipe of some sort came loose and struck Jeremy a glancing blow. I felt a sharp sting at the side of my neck and blood trickled warmly on my skin. After five minutes of terror from whirling glass around us, the funnel retreated into the clouds and vanished. 

We took stock of our injuries. I had a shallow laceration on my neck. Nicole had a cut over her left eye. Dolls had been sliced on the cheek by flying glass. Doc reported having a bruise on his ribs where something had slammed into him. Wynonna was unharmed; though she complained nonstop about losing her burger. Rosita was okay. Jeremy was bleeding from the back of his head; Nicole was pressing the sleeve of her shirt against it. His was the worst injury. 

Dolls climbed out of the bay and went to find medical assistance for Jeremy. Shortly after, we heard an ambulance arrive outside. The paramedics jumped down into the pit. Nicole and Doc boosted Shae up; Nicole was taking her back to the motel. Doc and Wynonna helped Rosita and I clamber out of the pit; in turn we reached down and pulled them up.

Wynonna pointed at the envelope still tucked into my jeans. 

“What the fuck is that, babygirl?” 

I waited until Doc and Rosita walked ahead of us before replying. “The divorce papers. I’m gonna give them to her, Wynonna.”

“Oh, hell no, babygirl. You’re not, and here’s why-I think she’s still in love with you.”

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Nicole was walking slowly back toward us from the motel. She was alone.

The paramedics had cleaned and dressed Jeremy’s head wound and he insisted he needed no further medical attention. I was confirming this with the medics when Rosita ran up to us.  
“Waverly, I’m sorry, there’s bad news. At the same time the tornado hit here, an F-4 hit Cleo Springs.”

My heart fell. Aunt Gus! 

I pulled my phone from my pocket and tried to call her, but she didn’t answer. 

Couldn’t answer?

By this time, Nicole had rejoined us. Her dark eyes studied my worried face, then she nodded.  
“Load up!” she yelled at the team. “We’re going to go check on Aunt Gus.”

The team scrambled to their vehicles. For the first time they were quiet and subdued.

We ran to Nicole’s truck and she chose the driver’s seat. “You’ll need your hands free to keep calling Aunt Gus.” She explained as she pulled onto the highway.

If she could be kind, then so could I. 

“Hey, we have to pick up Shae at the motel on our way out of town.” 

“Shae’s not coming with us.” Nicole said without any inflection in her voice.

“Okay, no problem, we’ll pick her up later. She probably needed some rest, yeah?” 

There was no response. Nicole’s face was lit with the glow from the dashboard. It held an inward, thoughtful, expression. She focused on the road ahead, silent.

Minutes passed.

“Nicole? Are you okay? How’s your head, does the cut hurt?” She hadn't dressed the laceration above her eyebrow and I was starting to worry.

“No, I’m fine, it wasn’t deep.” she finally responded. She didn’t look at me.

“Good.” I was relieved. There was tension in the air, though. Could it be that what Wynonna told me was actually true? That Nicole was still in love with me? I was uncertain why she was so tense, or how to break through to her. I decided to try calling Aunt Gus again. 

No answer.

By now I was getting very anxious, willing us to get there faster; my foot tapping the floor repeatedly. I wasn’t even consciously aware of the nervous habit. 

Nicole was obviously aware, though. She gently placed her hand on my knee to hold my leg still. A _zing_ of electricity traveled up my leg and my whole body felt warm.

I coughed to cover a different, inappropriate, sound.  
“Sorry, Nicole, I didn’t realize I was doing that.”

“It’s all right, Waverly. I know you’re worried about Aunt Gus. I am, too. We’ll be there in about fifteen minutes. Why don’t you try her number again?”

She was being so sweet and understanding. 

My heart hurt, like it was crushed in my chest. As a scientist, I know that doesn’t happen, but that’s what it felt like. 

I tried the number again. No answer.

To take my mind away from my worry, I asked Nicole “So, how did you meet Shae anyway?”

Nicole irritably responded “You don’t have to pretend to be interested anymore, Waverly.”

I was surprised but I said sincerely “No, Nicole, I’m not pretending. I want to know. I promise I won’t say anything rude.”

“No, I meant that you don’t have to pretend to be interested anymore because Shae broke off our engagement.”

There was a long, long silence while I digested this news. 

I finally came up with “I’m sorry, Nicole.”

“ARE YOU? ARE you sorry? Waverly?” She said with an angry edge to her tone. 

She looked straight ahead, jaw clenched tightly. All it did was emphasize the beauty of her jawline. I refocused my thoughts.

“Nicole, I _am_ sorry—if you’re heartbroken, if you’re grief-stricken, if you’re unhappy, then I _am_  
sorry.” I paused. “But you don’t seem to be any of those things.”

__

She sighed and ran a hand over her forehead and through her hair, mussing it adorably.  
“No, you’re right, I’m not heartbroken, but I don’t know what I’m supposed to feel right now.”

__

“If I’m not being too nosy, why did she break off the engagement?”

__

**“SHIT!”**

__

Nicole swerved wildly, slamming on the brakes. I grabbed the dash as the seatbelt locked down over my chest. In the darkness we had narrowly missed smashing into a downed tree. It sprawled haphazardly over more than half the width of the highway.  
We slowly navigated around it. 

__

Beyond was total devastation. We had reached the outskirts of Cleo Springs.

__

The town had been flattened. As I gazed around anxiously I could see no house was left untouched. I grew more and more afraid of what we might find when we got to my aunt’s ranch.

__

Her two-story home had become a no-story home.

__

“Oh my god, Aunt Gus!” I was frantic.

__

“Waverly, there’s a flashlight under your seat. Grab it and be ready.” 

__

Nicole parked and I ran across the yard faster than I’ve ever run in my whole life.

__

Nicole still outran me. She stopped me before I could jump up on the collapsed roof.

__

“Waverly, be careful! This whole thing could fall down at any minute, we have to go slowly.”

__

I nodded, still breathing hard. “AUNT GUS!” I wheezed.

__

“AUNT GUS!” Nicole yelled at the top of her lungs. 

__

We waited for a response.

__

I heard a faint noise, so small I might have imagined it.

__

“AUNT GUS!” I yelled a little louder this time. I hadn’t imagined it, the faint noise repeated itself.

__

Nicole took my hand and we carefully climbed into a window.

__

“AUNT GUS!” I called. We listened intently.

__

A sound came from below us. “I think she’s in the basement, Nicole!” I said excitedly. 

__

She nodded in agreement. We began picking our way through a jumbled mess of household items, broken glass, and pieces of wood. We finally found the stairs that led down to the basement. 

__

The house suddenly shifted. If Nicole hadn’t still been holding my hand, I’d have fallen down the stairs. We cautiously made our way down, flashing the light in front of us.

__

I heard a weak voice call out “Waverly? Nicole?” 

__

Emotion made my throat tight. I was overwhelmed with relief.

__

“We’re here, Aunt Gus.” Nicole answered confidently. She guided me through a maze of boxes and old furniture. Aunt Gus was sitting in an ancient broken-down armchair; hair and face covered in blood and one arm held across her chest. She smiled at us tiredly and looked pointedly at our hands, still clasped together.

__

I love my Aunt Gus.

__

She was injured, but nothing looked life-threatening, and her observational skills were as strong as ever. She was going to be okay.

__

I’m not religious, but at that moment I believed in a higher power. 

__

Nicole calmly took over. “Okay, Aunt Gus, Waverly’s going to call 911 on her phone.” 

__

“Huh? Oh yeah.” I surfaced from my distraction and grabbed my phone from my pocket, punching the emergency button. 

__

Nicole kneeled by Gus. “We’re going to need more help to get you out of here. I’d like to look at your head injury first…Do you think your arm is broken?”

__

“I think so.” she replied shakily. “And something hit me on the head. But I think it’s stopped bleeding already.”

__

Nicole was blotting the excess blood with her shirtsleeve so she could see the cut. “Looks like you’re going to need some sewing up there, Gus.” she observed.

__

“Help’s on the way.” I told them. 

__

I leaned over and gently held her hand. “I love you, Aunt Gus. I can’t lose you, too.” 

__

I felt Nicole’s eyes on me, but she didn’t say anything aloud.

__

Gus touched my face lovingly. “Waverly, we had no warning. I only had about two minutes between the time the sirens blew and the tornado hit us. If you love me, you’ll promise you’re gonna keep working on that darn contraption. Because you need to figure out how to give people more time to get to safety. Promise me that and I’ll promise to always be here for you.”

__

“I promise.” I told her solemnly, then gave her the Girl Scout salute, making her smile.

__

The rescue team arrived with a stretcher and medical equipment. Nicole gently pulled me out of their way. With her strong hands she guided me back through the chaotic destruction of the house and into the front yard. 

__

One of my aunt’s metal sculptures was still standing. Coincidentally it was the one that was an impressionist representation of a tornado. A random breeze had caused the metal blades to spin. I was happy it had survived because it was a beautiful piece of art.

__

Nicole walked across the road to update our anxiously awaiting team while I waited by the ambulance. Wynonna came across and silently touched Aunt Gus on her shoulder as she was loaded in. She and Aunt Gus had a contentious relationship but I knew they loved each other deeply. Gus smiled at her and patted her hand.

__

I was preparing to climb into the ambulance to accompany Gus to the hospital, when Rosita stuck her head around the door apologetically.

__

“Hey, Aunt Gus, we’re all glad you’re okay…Uh, Waves? NSSL is reporting that a storm front is forming near Canton and they predict it could possibly develop an F-5…”

__

I looked at Aunt Gus. She made a shooing motion with her good hand. “Waverly, you go with them. This is what you’ve been doing since you were a kid. It’s time for you to go find some answers, in more ways than one.” She looked at me meaningfully.

__

“I love you Aunt Gus. I’ll be at the hospital tomorrow to check on you.”

__

“Go, sweetie, or they’re gonna leave without you!” She waved good-bye as the doors closed. 

__

I stood gazing at the ambulance as it departed. Something caught the corner of my vision and a lightbulb went off in my mind.

__

Nicole came up to me with a worried expression. “I thought you were going with Aunt Gus to the hospital.”

__

I didn’t reply. I was staring at the tornado sculpture. Nicole turned to see what I was looking at.  
We locked eyes.

__

“Nicole, I know how we can make Peacemaker fly!” 

__

Understanding dawned on her face. She grinned with excitement and jogged over to the team. 

__

“Guys, we need all the aluminum cans you can find. We’re gonna need bolts, metal shears, duct tape…We need to load the last two Peacemakers into the back of my truck…” Her voice faded as she stuck her head into the van. 

__

Wynonna slapped my butt. “Fuck yeah, babygirl…We’re going for it!”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________  
Dolls, Rosita and Jeremy worked feverishly in the van as our little caravan cautiously maneuvered around debris on the highway. It was slow traveling. 

__

Peacemaker 3.0 and 4.0 were locked and loaded in the bed of my truck, awaiting their chance to make history. Waverly, Wynonna, Doc and I were driving while the others cut aluminum cans into what I had named blades, and Waverly called wings. 

__

The sun was rising blood-red as we neared Longdale, just east of Canton. The sky to the west was black with angry clouds. I could see, sense, and smell disaster brewing in those clouds. It made me uneasy.

__

We stopped at the side of the road to load our redesigned sensors into Peacemaker 3.0 and 4.0, hurrying to catch the storm we could see building ahead of us. Waverly climbed into the truck with me, leaning her head out of the window and warning the team not to follow us too closely. The potential danger was too great.

__

The storm loomed dead ahead. 

__

I drove within a mile of the approaching whirling mass, hitting the brakes and skidding to a halt. After running to the rear of the truck, we lugged Peacemaker 3.0 out of the bed and onto the roadway. We jumped back into the truck, clasping each other’s hands in victory.  
“It’s gonna work.” Waverly assured me.

__

I swung the truck around, moving us a safer distance away to watch. Waverly had her video camera ready to record the historic moment. 

__

The wind was picking up speed, howling loudly. Peacemaker was drunkenly staggering back and forth across the blacktop. It appeared as if it would tip over at any moment.  
“It’s too light!” I yelled at Waverly.  
“No, it’s gonna work!” She shouted back stubbornly.

__

The funnel was huge and throwing off large debris as it crossed the road ahead of us. It was by far the largest I had seen in my career: brown with dirt, and full of menace. As I watched in fascination, the tornado spit out an uprooted tree. It slid down the highway directly toward Peacemaker, hitting it bullseye and knocking it over, scattering sensors like glitter. 

__

Waverly and I groaned together, defeated again.

__

Not satisfied with destroying Peacemaker, the tree continued tumbling down the road. I had a sudden realization. “It’s gonna hit us!! Hang on!” The tree banged into the truck, lifting the wheels from the road and spinning us in a crazy circle.

__

“Get us out of here!” Waverly yelled at me. 

__

I threw the truck into reverse. Nothing happened. 

__

We were high-centered on the tree. Shit.

__

I kept throwing the truck into drive and then into reverse, trying to work the truck off the tree trunk. 

__

“We need to get out of here _now_ , Nicole!” 

__

“I’m trying, Waverly!” 

__

Waverly suddenly pointed at the enormous funnel. I could see metallic glints sparkling within it about halfway up. We looked at each other.

__

“What is _that_ ?” We said in unison. 

__

_That_ was a gas tanker caught in the suction of the tornado. 

__

“Oh. My. God.” I said with fear and awe. 

__

The funnel rotated the tanker to its edge and it began to fall out of the sky. About 100 yards directly in front of us. 

__

The trailer end hit the highway with a BOOM; bursting into flames. The tractor end skidded down the asphalt and slammed sideways into the front grille of my truck, effectively knocking us off the tree trunk. 

__

I seized my opportunity to get the fuck out of there. I stomped the accelerator, wrestled the truck onto the shoulder, through a wall of flame, and back onto the highway. We hurtled down the road at a speed greatly exceeding the posted limit.

__

Wynonna’s voice came over the comm system. “Babygirl! Nicole! Are you all right? We can’t see you!”

__

Waverly replied sadly. “We’re okay, but Peacemaker isn’t.” 

__

“Did you see that explosion? It was awesome!”

__

“We saw it.” Waverly said in a vast understatement.

__

I couldn’t help myself, I laughed.

__

“Hey guys? The tornado is still on the ground…moving south.” Rosita broke in.

__

Dolls joined the conversation. “If you go left on 58, you should run straight into it…”

__

Waverly and I looked at each other, _really looked_ into each other’s eyes. For the first time in a long time, I felt like we were actually seeing each other, recognizing the qualities that had brought us together in the first place.

__

I squeezed her hand. “This is it, this is the last one.” 

__

She squeezed mine back. “The last _time,_ Nicole. If this doesn’t work, it’s the last time…”

__

“It’ll work.” I assured her. It _had_ to work, she had spent her life, her money, her energy, pursuing this dream. We had to succeed.

__

_____________________________________________________________________________________

__

__

Robert Svane felt vindicated. For the first time in the last 24 hours, his team was in exactly the right place at the right time. The tornado was moving south on his right; he and Jonas, his driver, only needed to manuever in front of it to have the Revhead in the perfect position to deploy.  
This was going to pay off handsomely for him, he just knew it. “Team Revenant, we are going in. Stop and get into position.” 

__

Suddenly, through the radio speaker, a voice interrupted his orders. “Robert, come in.”  
“Waverly, I’m fairly busy, I can’t talk right now.”

__

Another voice broke in. “Robert, you’re going to have to anchor the Revhead. It’s too light, the wind blows it over.”

__

“You’re giving _me_ tips, Haught?” 

__

He was skeptical. Why would they help him? He wouldn’t help them if the tables were turned. Besides, if they stopped to anchor Revhead, they would miss their opportunity. Maybe _that_ was their plan.

__

He pointed toward an upcoming farm road. Jonas nodded and turned right. Still in perfect position. He congratulated himself on his genius. 

__

“Robert, I think you’re getting too close! She can change her path and you’ll be in trouble!”

__

“Haught, I need you to clear this frequency now.”

__

“Robert, she’s shifting…You need to get out of there now! Jonas, I know you can hear me!  
Turn around and get out of there!”

__

Jonas looked at Robert, who had reached forward and turned off the radio with a flick of his wrist. “Maybe we should listen, boss…they’d never knowingly put us in danger…”

__

He never had the chance to finish his sentence. A chunk of metal debris shattered the windshield and killed him instantly. 

__

Robert felt the tornado lift the truck high into the air, then toss it carelessly back down, like a child discarding a toy. It was his final thought before the truck exploded.

__

_____________________________________________________________________________________

__

__

“God DAMN it!” Nicole slammed her fist against the steering wheel.

__

I was shaken myself, but I needed to reassure her. “You did all you could. He wouldn’t listen.”  
I grabbed her fist in my hand. She relaxed it and curled her fingers around mine.

__

“Waverly, Nicole. This monster is getting bigger! It’s expanded to nearly a mile in diameter! You guys need to get ahead of it or you’ll get caught in it like Robert did!” I could hear the anxiety in Jeremy’s voice. 

__

I looked at Nicole. She pressed her foot to the accelerator and the truck sped up.

__

A farm tractor rolled over onto the road in front of us. “Go right!” I directed.

__

Ahead a combine harvester tumbled into our lane. “Left!” I shouted. 

__

A baler was shoved into our path by the wind. “Right!” I yelled.

__

What the fuck was going on with the farm equipment? 

__

“We have debris!” I shouted over the microphone. Nicole laughed sarcastically.

__

The road cleared for a moment. I sucked in a deep breath, heart hammering.

__

Nicole was perspiring. I watched a bead of sweat roll down her neck and onto her chest.  
That’s why I was instantly aware when her big dark eyes got even bigger. “Oh, HELL no.” She breathed out. 

__

A farmhouse had somersaulted onto the highway. There was no way to get out of its path.

__

“We’re goin’ innnnn!” She downshifted and punched the 4-wheel drive button on the dash.

__

I saw flashes of a front porch, a living room, and maybe a bathroom pass by my window before we burst out of the back door and onto the highway again. I didn’t realize I had been holding my breath until I actually breathed again. 

__

It was the craziest thing that had ever happened in my already crazy life. I wanted to laugh with relief but I knew it was too soon. 

__

“We’ve gotta get off this road!” Nicole mumbled.

__

“Yeah.” I agreed and pointed. “Over there.”

__

“We’re doing this?” She asked quietly. “We’re doing this.” I replied. 

__

She grabbed my hand and put it to her lips. We smiled at each other shyly; our expressions saying what we were unable to say aloud.

__

She abruptly steered the truck into a field of sunflowers; on a direct collision course with the tornado. 

__

_____________________________________________________________________________________

__

__

“I’m going to back and get Peacemaker ready.” Waverly removed her seatbelt; preparing to climb over the seats. 

__

I touched her shoulder. “Be careful.” I said. 

__

I’m certain I was giving her heart eyes right then.

__

“I’ll be careful.” She said as she slid the back window open and began turning on switches. Sunflower stalks slapped at her as Peacemaker 4.0 woke up and prepared for its task. 

__

She clambered back into the passenger seat. “Are you ready?” She asked.

__

“Just need to set the cruise control.” I calmly answered. Calmer than I actually felt inside.

__

“On three?” She unbuckled my seatbelt for me.

__

“On three.” I said.

__

We threw open the front doors of the truck. It was extremely difficult to hold them open at the speed we were going and against the force of the sunflowers hurling themselves at the truck.

__

“ONE!” She shouted.

__

“TWO!” I responded.

__

“THREE!” We yelled together.

__

Then we jumped out of the truck. 

__

I hit the ground hard but managed to diffuse some of the force by rolling. I couldn’t see Waverly anywhere. Had she been pulled under the truck and under the back tire? Was she hurt? I panicked.

__

“WAVERLY!” I yelled, louder than I ever have in my entire life. 

__

“HERE!” She ran up behind me and hugged my waist. I lifted her and held her close for a few seconds, her heart beating rapidly against mine. Still holding her, I turned around so we could watch my truck as it raced towards its inevitable fate.

__

“Go…” I breathed quietly.

__

“Go!” Waverly cheered it on.

__

“GO.” I shouted.

__

“GO!” Waverly yelled and punched her fist into the air.

__

Peacemaker’s plastic lid blew off and the winged sensors began to fly into the air as the funnel sucked them into its vortex. I could see them sparkling like fireflies before they disappeared into the whirling mass of debris. 

__

“YES!” I raised my arms and pumped my fists into the air victoriously.

__

“YES!” Waverly was doing a cute little happy dance.

__

My truck and Peacemaker 4.0 disappeared into the chaos. For a moment I felt a sense of grief, then Waverly hugged me again and it was gone.

__

“We DID it!” She laughed.

__

“We did it!” I breathed into her ear. She shivered in response.

__

We became aware of a cacophony of sound coming over Waverly’s headset. The team was whooping loudly and celebrating. 

__

Rosita’s voice rose over the hubbub. “We’re already getting data, you guys! This is amazing! We’ll have enough numbers to analyze for the next three years!”

__

Suddenly Jeremy interrupted her. “Ah, uh, hey, guys?…the twister is changing its path. You’d better get moving and quickly…”

__

I tore my eyes away from Waverly’s and verified that indeed, the funnel was headed directly toward us.

__

“Run! Run for your life!” I yelled. Cliche´, yes, but true in this circumstance.

__

We began running parallel to the tornado, holding hands as we ran, because there was no way I was letting go of her ever again.

__

The sunflower field ended, and I could see a barn in the distance. I ran toward it, pulling Waverly with me. “The barn! Let’s go!” I was forced to shout; the winds shrieked louder as the funnel drew nearer.

__

Sharp-ended slats of wood pelted my back as I ran. Someone’s picket fence had been decimated. I tried to protect Waverly with my body, pushing her ahead of me. Several pieces managed to slam into her despite my efforts. 

__

We reached the barn and I yanked open the door. Along with useful things like leather reins and cinches, the barn held an unimaginable amount of metal implements like hay rakes and scythes.  
“No way!” I said in disbelief. It was the barn of death. We had to get out of there. 

__

I grabbed a handful of the leather harnesses as we exited the barn. I met Waverly’s teasing eyes. “No strap-on jokes!” I warned her. She laughed, but the humor was short-lived.  
As we exited one end of the barn, the other end was being dragged into the tornado. We had to find shelter NOW. 

__

I spotted a pump house about 100 feet away. Perfect. I dragged Waverly to it and yelled into her ear. “The pipes in here go down at least 30 feet. We’ll tie ourselves to them and hope for the best.”

__

I looped a harness around the pipe, then around her waist, tying it as tightly as I could. I repeated the same for myself.  
The roar of the wind intensified, and the thudding of debris against the pump house nearly drowned me out as I pleaded with her. “Hang on! No matter what, you’ve got to hang on!” She nodded, determined.

__

The funnel tore away the roof of the pump house and began chewing at the frame. Chunks of wood and debris were flung into us, instantly causing cuts and bruises. 

__

I am not very religious but being in the middle of a tornado can make a person rethink that choice. I prayed to the almighty that no glass or metal or large pieces of debris would hit Waverly. Or myself, for that matter. 

__

As the vortex began to tug at us more strongly, Waverly could no longer keep her footing and the funnel pulled her into the air. Only the harness and her refusal to let go of it kept her from being torn away from me forever. 

__

The force of the wind strengthened and I was also yanked unceremoniously into the air. We were flung about like driftwood on a raging sea. I hung onto my harness grimly and hoped Waverly had enough strength to continue hanging on too. 

__

I looked at my feet, which in this case meant I was actually looking up into the twister. It was unbelievably beautiful and awe-inspiring. In a deadly way. 

__

I could see Waverly was gazing upward with the same awestruck expression. I wondered if she was thinking of her dad and Willa. I hoped I lived long enough to find out.

__

By my estimation, eons had passed. In actuality, it was just over 4 minutes. The funnel withdrew into the clouds and the winds dissipated. 

__

Waverly and I were left lying side by side on the ground, still attached to the pipe. I untied her and began to look her over for injuries. She had multiple cuts and abrasions, but I could see nothing major. The same was true for me. We had been incredibly lucky.

__

“Waverly, are you okay?” I asked her.

__

She sat up abruptly and faced me, taking my hands in hers. She began speaking rapidly without pausing, as if to prevent me from interrupting what she wanted to say.

__

“Nicole, don’t stop me, I need to say this…Nicole, I love you. I’ve always loved you, from the moment I first saw you at your presentation in Vegas. And for the rest of my life, I will continue to love you. I should have followed you when you left Purgatory Farm and begged you to return. I’ve regretted that I didn’t every single day since. If you come back with me, I promise to get PTSD counseling like you always asked me to. I will do anything, Nicole. Do you want to get couple’s therapy? I’ll do it. Do you want to be the priority in my life? You will be. I promise.” She paused briefly. “Nicole, I am so sorry about the things that happened the night before you left. I never meant to force anything on you that you didn’t want. I can never change what happened, I can only try to make it up to you. For the rest of our lives.” She stopped, out of breath.

__

Overcome with emotion, I couldn’t speak for a moment.

__

“Nicole?” She stared at me with fear in her eyes. 

__

In the distance I could hear ‘Celebration’ by Kool and the Gang. Wynonna’s truck and its external speakers had arrived. We were running out of time.

__

“Waverly, look at yourself and then look at me. It would be physically impossible for you to force me to do something I didn’t want to do. I needed reassurance that you wanted to have sex with me because you loved me, and not because you wanted to punish me or were exerting power over me. I could have communicated better…I should have approached the subject of counseling in a more positive way, instead of making you feel defensive…I should have come back and tried harder to work things out. Instead I gave up and walked away. There’s so much I could have done differently too.”

__

I heard car doors slamming and voices singing. 

__

“What about Shae?” she asked hesitantly.

__

I said simply “I wanted to be the most important person in somebody’s life.”

__

She winced at that. “You are. You will be. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you.”

__

I smiled down at her. “I’ll hold you to that promise.”

__

“Does that mean you’ll come back to the farm, Nicole? Live with me? Start all over? No divorce?”

__

“Yes, yes, yes, and yes, Waverly.”

__

“That’s good, because the papers were in your truck.”

__

I laughed and pulled her into my lap. She ruffled the hair at the back of my neck with her fingers then tugged gently. “Kiss me, Dr. Haught.”

__

“With pleasure, Dr. Haught.” Our lips met and in the kiss were promises of today and many tomorrows to follow. 

__

“Haught Shot! Get your tongue outta my baby sister’s mouth!” Wynonna jogged up to us, snorting at her own witticism. The team straggled along behind her.

__

“Really, I’m glad to see you’re both okay, and that you’re both OKAY if you know what I mean?“

__

“Hi, Wynonna.” I said wryly. 

__

She chuckled and began to herd the team away from us and back to the vehicles. 

__

“Now, where were we?” I asked. 

__

Waverly kissed me with heat, with passion, with intent; then stood up and offered her hand to pull me to my feet. She answered “We’re in Bumfuck Oklahoma and way too far away from a motel room, but we can remedy that.”

__

She met my eyes fearlessly, letting me see the love and desire. I knew her eyes were mirrors of my own.

__

“Nicole, I have to tell you something.” 

__

I looked at her questioningly.

__

“There’s only one type of counseling I refuse to get…”

__

“…Sex therapy!” We said in unison, laughing.

__

We slowly walked hand in hand toward the team. A bottle was being passed around and there was laughter, dancing, and loud singing. 

__

“…Now, what’s this ‘yeehaw Nicole’ all about?”

__

_____________________________________________________________________________________

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cutesy epilogue? Yea or nay? Let me know.


	3. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it was 100% yes for the cutesy epilogue.

Las Vegas, January 8, 2020 American Meteorological Society Annual Conference

I worked my way through a crowd of people milling about the entrance of lecture hall S-1, the room with the largest capacity of the entire Meteorological Conference. What an incredible difference from four years ago, when the presentation had been given in one of the smallest, most obscure lecture rooms the Las Vegas Convention Center had to offer. 

I willed the line to move faster. The talk would start in just a few minutes; and although a seat had been saved for me, I wanted to be sitting in it before the lights were dimmed.

Finally a space opened for me and I gently elbowed my way through as politely as possible. I walked quickly to the row of seats that had been designated for our team. It was easy to spot Wynonna by her hairstyle (like a mare with a Hollywood stylist!) and Doc with his cowboy hat and distinctive facial hair. Seated next to them were Dolls, Rosita, Aunt Gus, Jeremy, and Jeremy’s boyfriend, Robin. Jeremy smiled and patted the seat next to him, indicating where I should sit.

Just in time. The lights dimmed, prompting a smattering of applause; the murmur of the crowd died out.

The moderator moved to the podium for the introduction.

“It’s my pleasure today to introduce our next speaker. After completing her undergraduate studies at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in 2012, she qualified for and received her PhD in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma in 2014. She has specialized in Tornadic Supercell Research since then, and recently her Purgatory Farm Institute was the recipient of the largest grant ever bestowed by the United States government for weather research. Men and women of the American Meteorological Society, please join me in welcoming Dr. Waverly Haught to the podium.”

The applause was enthusiastic, augmented by Wynonna’s “Woot woot!” and Doc’s strident whistling. I clapped loudly and smiled ear-to-ear with pride. 

“Thank you so much for the warm welcome!” She wore that wide smile on her face that turned her eyes into half moons; and if she was nervous, she hid it well. 

“Today I’m going to talk about our Peacemaker Project, which we launched successfully for the first time last May and over a dozen times since then. The data that has been retrieved from these excursions has greatly expanded our understanding of tornado movement. The ultimate goal of the Peacemaker Project is not only to further mankind’s knowledge of these incredibly destructive natural forces; but to increase the interval of time between warnings and evacuation measures, thereby saving lives.”

She paused, and a round of enthusiastic applause followed. 

“But before I begin to outline our project and the preliminary results in more detail, I would like to ask for a moment of silence for Robert Svane and Jonas Miller, and the many other scientists who have given their lives in the pursuit of these deadly monsters.”

The room became silent for a few moments, then Waverly continued, “Thank you. Now for some background into the ideas which became the genesis of Peacemaker…”

Waverly had practiced her speech with me numerous times, so I began to tune out a little. In my mind I was rehearsing the words I would say to her after the presentation ended. 

“…in conclusion, we feel the data creates the ability to devise a warning system that will have the capacity to coordinate both traditional and satellite radio, television, internet and cellular systems, thus enabling meteorologists to effectively reach the greatest number of people possible in the shortest amount of time. In 2019, 39 Americans were killed by tornadic activity, bringing grief, loss, and immeasurable pain to their survivors. Someday, when the Peacemaker Project succeeds, that number could be zero…Members of the American Meteorology Society, I thank you for your attention today.”

The applause was thunderous. After it had diminished, the moderator returned to the podium.  
“Thank you, Dr. Haught. Now we’ll open up the microphone for questions.”

“Dr. Haught, how did you come up with the name for the Peacemaker Project?”

I only half-listened to the Q & A, still preoccupied with my own thoughts and anxieties.  
Jeremy reached over and gave my hand an understanding pat.

Finally it was all over; and as the hall emptied, Waverly walked up the aisle to our team. There were hugs and laughter and congratulations.

I stood on the edge of the group and waited my turn. At last I had her full attention.  
The team formed an expectant circle around us.

I dropped to one knee. “Waverly, today is our 4th wedding anniversary. We’ve had our good days and our bad days, but I treasure every day I’ve shared with you. I love you so much. Would you do me the honor of remarrying me in front of our closest friends and family?”

She took my hand and gave me the softest, most loving smile of my entire life.  
“Yes I will. I love you, Nicole. For always and forever.”

The team gathered around us for more hugging and congratulations.

Waverly tugged gently on my wrist. “So, when and where are we getting remarried, Dr. Haught?”

“Tonight at 8pm. And well, baby, you know I’ve been busy with the lab, so Wynonna volunteered to make the arrangements…”

Waverly looked at me with trepidation. “You let Wynonna make the arrangements? She probably arranged one of those Elvis wedding ceremonies!”

Wynonna and I replied in unison, “Well, as a matter of fact…”

_____________________________________________________________________________________

One of the brides looked radiant in the emerald dress that her Aunt Gus had chosen. The color brought out the green of her sparkling eyes. The other bride wore a happy dimpled smile and a matching custom tuxedo that emphasized her height and athletic build. 

If there were a few teary eyes in the wedding party, who could blame them? The past was forgotten and the future was bright.

The ceremony ended with the traditional kiss and as they kissed, Elvis crooned his lovely ballad:

Love me tender, love me sweet  
Never let me go  
You have made my life complete  
And I love you so

Love me tender, love me true  
All my dreams fulfill  
For my darling I love you  
And I always will.

Love me tender, love me long  
Take me to your heart  
For it’s there that I belong  
And we’ll never part 

Love me tender, love me true  
All my dreams fulfill  
For my darling I love you  
And I always will.

Love me tender, love me dear  
Tell me you are mine  
I’ll be yours through all the years  
‘Till the end of time

Love me tender, love me true  
All my dreams fulfill  
For my darling I love you  
And I always will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope this didn't disappoint. I want to thank every person who so graciously leaves comments and kudos.


End file.
